Local Benefits of Renewables in Rural Communities

Will Wiseman's path to founding Climatize started with a stark realization. When he and a hundred thousand people participated in the 2019 Barcelona climate strikes, he realized there was massive, palpable passion, but not necessarily an actionable channel for everyone to activate afterward. To fill that gap, he and his co-founder got to work building a platform that transforms capital into climate infrastructure. The product, Climatize, is an SEC-registered funding portal that democratizes renewable energy investment by giving everyday investors access to crowdfund community-scale solar and storage projects. 

Fast-forward to 2025, and the results validate the thesis: $12M deployed across 26 projects in 12 states, with $3.5M already returned to investors, though past performance does not guarantee future results. Now, the platform is gaining traction and scale; in fact, a battery energy storage project in New York raised $124K in three days on Climatize, with the final $50K snowballing in less than an hour. 

And there’s more to the story than just the numbers. Much more, in fact. In discussing the business, energy markets and trends, and the evolution of renewable energy technologies, Nick and Will also zoom out to appreciate the power of identifying and creating new narratives that resonate across diverse stakeholders, including farmers in rural Tennessee and Georgia, and reflect on the power of flywheel dynamics in general to accelerate positive change across society. 

To learn more about Climatize and to get $50 towards investing in renewable energy projects, Keep Cool listeners can explore this dedicated landing page and/or use https://climatize.earth/keep-cool code “COOL50” when signing up for Climatize. 

For a visual feel, check out videos exploring Climatize’s work in the field, see here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJmvjw1SwrJIBt1tOrp1g9Nm3FCWTazA

Timestamps:

00:01:06 - Introduction of Will Wiseman, CEO of Climatize

00:02:47 - Will Wiseman's Background in Renewable Energy

00:03:42 - The Genesis of Climatize

00:05:07 - The Power of Collective Capital

00:06:14 – Emphasizing the Importance of Individual Agency in Climate Action

00:08:14 - Changes in the Renewable Energy Sector Over the Last Decade

00:13:05 - The Versatility of Renewable Energy Projects

00:17:59 - Empowering Communities Through Renewable Energy Projects

00:18:33 - The Speed and Efficiency of Climatize's Funding Model

00:20:03 - Mechanics of Climatize's Investment Platform

00:22:09 - Climatize's Project Evaluation and Underwriting Process

00:24:15 - Types of Projects Funded by Climatize

00:27:08 - Potential for Global Expansion

00:30:20 - Overcoming Early Platform Challenges

00:31:10 - The Role of AI in Climatize's Operations

00:35:04 - Future Initiatives and Priorities for Climatize

00:36:15 - The Importance of Collective Action and Self-Actualization

00:38:19 - The Flywheel Effect and Future Acceleration

00:39:03 - Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Final notes:

To keep up with Will and his work, you can follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-wiseman/

Plus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here: https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/

Thank you so much.